I noticed a HUGE jump in my site traffic yesterday, so I decided to give you all something new to look at. Introducing Model of the Month, Jamie Mann (aka my oldest child and not really a model, so let’s see how long it takes him to notice this is here and yell at me to take it down).

Name: Jamie Mann

Height: 6’1″
Suit: 38L (I’m making this up. I really have no idea. Guys out there, does this sound about right?)
Shoe: 11 1/2
Base: New York

Jamie Mann, by Curtis & Cort

Jamie Mann, by Curtis & Cort

I call this Jamie Mann, surfer boy. By Curtis & Cort.

I call this Jamie Mann, surfer boy tough guy. By Curtis & Cort. (He is going to tell my how cringe-y this is.)

Obviously this is Jamie Mann, pretty boy. By Curtis & Cort.

This is one Mom doesn’t really want to label. We will call it: Where did my little boy go?

Jamie is an actor/singer/dancer. If you want to learn more, check out Jamiemartinmann.com
Jamie is repped by Edge Entertainment Management and Innovative Artists. 

Or just stay here and browse around my site and keep my traffic on the uptick!

Enter the Modeling Mentor Model Search

Teen Actor Jamie Mann Hosts Virtual Cabaret for Actor/Screenwriter Obi Ndefo Who Lost Both Legs

9/11 to Covid 19…

It’s been a rough spring. I’ve gone quiet on Modelingmentor.com in the same way I struggled to churn out an issue of Tear Sheet magazine after 9/11. The modeling and fashion industry seemed so superficial from the vantage point of an office in Chelsea, where the stomach churning odor of the mass grave downtown lingered for weeks. Now, during the Covid 19 pandemic, we’ve all been in sweatpants for months and fashion shoots seem like opulent affairs from another lifetime.

Back in 2001, I coped by dedicating the subsequent issue of Tear Sheet to everyone in the fashion industry who was doing something to help the families and companies hit hardest. Those planes of doom may have changed the skyline of New York City but not its heart. Likewise, this pandemic has ravaged people and businesses across the globe, but hope is only ever as far away as the click of a mouse. John Krasinski’s Some Good News was my favorite feel-good pick-me-up of the spring. Watch every 15-minute episode if you haven’t yet.

Actor/Screenwriter Obi Ndefo

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…

Closer to home, my oldest son Jamie broke out of his Netflix-binge-watching cocoon and did some good. He had been on the other side of the screen this winter, actually acting in a Netflix show (Country Comfort), up until the pandemic hit and halted production. It was like going from the high of your childhood dream come true with the most awesome cast and crew ever to being quarantined for four months with just your family. Oh, wait a minute, it wasn’t like that, it was that! But during that cooped-up time, Jamie took to running (briefly) with his dad. And that’s when he met Obi Ndefo, by chance, in Silver Lake, where Obi lives, and where we happened to be living during filming. Obi, a Nigerian-Jewish American actor/screenwriter was in a wheelchair and Jamie’s dad recognized his Yale classmate.

Jamie Mann and Obi Ndefo during the June 30 Virtual Cabaret Benefit

To learn what happened next and why Obi Ndefo is the role model for the attitude we need to get through these trying times, both with the pandemic and racial tensions, read the story in Broadway World.

And listen to Obi Ndefo’s powerful message for humanity:

Have a Model Citizen story for me?  That’s what I’m digging these days. Model submissions welcome as well—fingers crossed the biz kicks in so we can shed our sweatpants someday soon. But let’s not lose our new-found perspective on the stuff that’s really important.

Dear readers, aspiring models and actors, and patient parents,

It has been one crazy year for the Mann Clan* and my actor kids have hijacked my life! If you do not like routine and prefer not to have any idea where you might be in 24 hours, getting your kids into acting is a great way to achieve that!

But now I’m settled out in L.A. where my oldest son, Jamie, is shooting a new Netflix show. Everyone in the cast, crew, and creative team is incredibly nice so I expect to have a lovely writing sojourn out here and get back into action on much neglected Modelingmentor.com!

If you are a Model of the Month winner for 2019, hold tight; Model of the Year will be announced in May. Have your friends and fans “like” your Model of the Month page in the meantime (industry judges determine Model of the Year; likes determine the People’s Choice winner).

*My married name is Mann in case you are confused. My maiden and professional name is Johnson. But as my professional and personal lives have gotten all mixed up together, I’m occasionally adopting the clearer but unmelodious Jill Johnson Mann. Who wants all those “son” and “man’s” in their name?

Enter the Modeling Mentor Model Search

Haven’t entered yet? What are you waiting for? It’s easy and free, just visit this link and submit your photos and stats: MODEL SEARCH

“For Life” and “Country Comfort” Shameless Plugs

Tune into the premiere of “For Life” on February 11 on ABC to see my son Cameron Mann as Justin Masry—or better, to see his moms, Mary Stuart Masterson (I’ve been obsessed with her ever since Some Kind of Wonderful and tried not to geek out when chatting with her. She’s just another mom of 4… except so much more) and Indira Varma (riveting), in this new prison/legal show, which is based on a true story.

Katharine McPhee and Eddie Cibrian – “Country Comfort” – Deadline

Keep an eye out for Jamie Martin Mann as Brody in “Country Comfort” with Katharine McPhee, coming to Netflix later this year!

The Kids of “Country Comfort”: Ricardo Hurtado, Jamie Martin Mann, Pyper Braun, Shiloh Verrico and Griffin McIntyre

Stay Tuned for an Update on Em Marie, Model of the Year 2016

I hope you are following her on social media because she is a role model for how to make the most of your modeling adventures! Em Marie’s Instagram

Tis the season to take a break from modeling castings and bookings, but the beautiful people just gotta keep posing…

Former Model of the Month Cooper Gusick, shot by Diana Zicklin Berrent

Rivers Reid, a 2017 Model of the Month (don’t forget to “like” your fave Model of the Month!)

The beautiful and talented Grace Mozitis

Another talented beauty: Sydney Freihofer

My family, having a little photo shoot fun!

“Like” Your Favorite Model of the Month!

“Dream Ballet” with Jamie Mann, by Zoe Bradford

“Dream Ballet” with Ben Kuefler and Jamie Mann, Photo by Zoe Bradford

Jamie Mann as Billy Elliot in “Angry Dance,” by Zoe Bradford

“Boxing,” by Zoe Bradford

If you’ve followed my posts on my son Jamie, you know he’s dreamed of playing Billy Elliot since he was a little kid. Getting cast as Billy in Maltz Jupiter Theatre‘s Florida regional premiere of BETM was the high point of his young career! That run was last December. The hardest part was leaving with no photos or video to treasure, as it was a wonderful show (Actors Equity Union has strict rules on photographing and videotaping actors). Now Jamie is starring as Billy in Company Theatre’s BETM in Massachusetts. Company Theatre has obliged with tons of fantastic images and video footage to share and save for posterity. It’s an experience Jamie will never forget—and the visual record will be added insurance that these memories last forever.

Here is the first video teaser, which will give you a sense of the brilliant work Company Theatre does:

I have so much to write about the Billy Elliot experience. Stay tuned for more to find out what it’s like to prepare, rehearse, and star in a big regional show (and what is involved for the parent or guardian who goes along).